Paddy Power Betfair Close to Acquiring FanDuel, Seeks U.S. Sports Betting Market Share

Legal Sports Report has reported that Irish bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) is close to acquiring FanDuel. Little is known about the deal’s terms, but “it (the price point) appears likely to be below the $1 billion valuation” that the company held in July 2015. PPB acquired FanDuel competitor DRAFT for +/- $50 million in May 2017, so should the deal go through PDYPY would own the 2nd and 3rd most popular DFS apps. The news comes just one day after the SCOTUS struck down PASPA, the federal ban preventing individual states (save Nevada) from offering betting on the outcome of a single sporting event; FanDuel CEO Matt King indicated earlier this month, that his company would “get into sports betting” if the courts voted in New Jersey’s favor (as they did).

Howie Long-Short: Paddy Power Betfair isn’t collecting DFS companies for sport, they’re using M&A to take market share in a sports betting arms race. FanDuel has a database that contains 6 million DFS users (not all active) and PPB believes they’ll be able to convert many of those individuals into true sports bettors. The FanDuel brand also brings PPB some value, as the popular gaming operator (in Ireland and U.K.) lacks U.S. name recognition; though it does own California based horseracing betting business and digital broadcaster TVG and the NJ online gaming site Betfair Casino.

FanDuel raised $430 million in venture funding, but has struggled to raise additional capital since Q3 ‘15; so, investors were pushing to either pursue a sale or public offering. In March, we reported FanDuel was considering a reverse merger as a means of capitalization. Those talks would appear to be on hold. While that means you won’t be able to purchase shares of FanDuel on the NASDAQ (as Platinum Eagle had planned), you can buy stake in Paddy Power Betfair. The company trades OTC under the symbol PDYPY. Shares are up 7% since the SCOTUS decision, but declined 4.5% on Tuesday following the Legal Sports Report’s report.

Fan Marino: DraftKings maintains the No. 1 position among DFS companies, claiming more than 10 million users. Interestingly, their fastest growing game (+59%) isn’t tied to the NFL, NBA or MLB, but to League of Legends; where users construct rosters (with a salary cap) of professional gamers. It’s not just DFS players getting into esports though, global wagering (includes legal and illegal) on esports is expected to top $6.7 billion in 2018 and hit $13 billion by 2020. Looking to get in on the action? Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) and William Hill (WIMHY) both take bets and offer odds on esports, as does Unikrn; a website that allows for legal esports betting using their own virtual token (Unikoin Gold, UKG) or cash. Unikrn has raised $41.4 million to date, including $31.5 million in a H2 ‘17 ICO; Mark Cuban participated and has a seat on the company’s advisory board.